A malfunction of a person's heart valve such as mitral regurgitation, can be a life threatening illness. Many systems and techniques have been developed over the years to attempt to correct the various heart valve malfunctions. These include full replacement of the valve, the use of annuloplasty rings and bands, and leaflet elongation.
Although many of these systems and techniques have been successful and have allowed patients to return to relatively normal lifestyles, there still is about a 25-30% failure rate in the repair of mitral regurgitation from a damaged and/or enlarged heart. Thus, there is a need for improved processes and systems in the area which can secure a higher rate of success.
It is thus a general object of the present invention to provide improved processes, systems and devices for the repair of heart valves. It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide improved processes, systems and devices for the repair of regurgitating heart valves, particularly hearts with mitral regurgitation (MR).